RAHUL AWASTHI
Mahendra Cave is a large limestone cave in Pokhara. Named after Late King Mahendra, this cave is located to the western region of Pokhara about 1100m above sea level and have easy road access. The statue of Hindu God, Lord Shiva can be found inside the cave. It is one of the most visit places in Pokhara.
Mahendra cave is rich for its rock types and different stones that glitters when a beam of light is struck in it. This natural formation is supposed to be seen and not struck with sharp digging objects. This cave also consists of big boulders of rock and the tunnels which leads to different places like Kali Khola (River) but at present many of the tunnels are blocked by huge boulders of rock. The cave is also a home for wild bats, a large number of bats can be seen in its dark ceilings.
This cave was discovered in the 1950’s by sheperds of Pokhara. The old name of the cave is ‘Adhero Bhawan.’ Senior culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi visited the cave in 1953 AD. He then wrote an article about it in a Newari newspaper. The current ruler of the country, King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, read it and eventually traveled to Pokhara to give it a visit. It was then named after him as “The Mahendra Cave”. Thousands of Indian tourists can be seen visiting this place throughout the year as Mahendra Cave has some religious importance as well. It is also considered as a sacred place for Lord Shiva’s Devotees.
Mahendra cave is open daily between 9 am and 6 pm. To enter in the Mahendra Cave, you’ll have to pay a certain entrance fee which varies according to your nationality. The entry price is 50 rupees for Nepali citizens, 150 rupees ($9/eu 8) for foreigners, and 80 rupees for people from SAARC countries.
From the Pokhara Airport, the cave can be accessed within 30 minutes by taxi, 1 hour by public buses and 2 hours by foot. From the Prithvi Buspark, it is 10 minutes shorter than from the airport via public vehicles.
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